Hay season ends the way it starts, with ranchers looking at the sky and then at the feed bill. This fall the feed bill is winning. A dry spring left a short grass crop across much of the Plains, drought and heat made it worse, and ranchers who normally put up their own hay are out shopping for it.
The clearest sign is in South Dakota, where USDA’s October 16 report has premium grass hay at $200 a ton, just $10 under premium alfalfa rounds at $210. In June, the national gap between average alfalfa and average non-alfalfa hay was about $57 a ton (Progressive Forage). Here is where hay is trading this week in Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming and northeast Colorado, why it is there, and what to expect this winter.
Where Hay Is Trading This Week
Nebraska. Trading is light because farmers are in the middle of corn and soybean harvest, but demand is good on all forages (USDA AMS Nebraska Direct Hay Report, Oct. 22). Fair alfalfa in large rounds sold at $200 to $210 a ton, good alfalfa in the Platte Valley at $220, and fair prairie or meadow grass at $180 delivered to a farm or ranch. Sellers are asking $250 to $270 a ton for ground alfalfa delivered in central Nebraska and the Platte Valley, and $320 in the west. For perspective, USDA’s yearly all-quality average for Nebraska alfalfa was $201 a ton in the 2022 drought year and $130 in 2024 (USDA NASS via UNL CropWatch).
South Dakota. Demand is good to very good for every class of hay, strongest from western ranchers in the part of the state where drought was severe and little hay was made (USDA AMS South Dakota Direct Hay Report, Oct. 16). Supreme alfalfa in 3×4 squares traded at $300 a ton, premium alfalfa rounds at $210, premium grass rounds at $200, and good grass rounds at $175. At the Monday Dakota auction the week of Oct. 19, good grass averaged $230 a ton, a dollar above good alfalfa (HayWire, from USDA auction data).
Wyoming. Auction trades reported to USDA through Oct. 12 averaged about $302 a ton for good-to-premium alfalfa, with a range of $280 to $350, and about $274 for good alfalfa (HayWire, from USDA auction data). Reported trades are thin and most come from western Wyoming, so get local quotes if you are feeding around Cheyenne, Laramie or Torrington. Most of the state was in severe drought in August, and ranchers who normally cut their own hay have had to buy feed or sell cows (WyoFile).
Northeast Colorado. Demand is good to very good for new-crop hay. Premium small squares of alfalfa, alfalfa-grass mix and grass sold 25 to 50 cents a bale higher, and premium 3×3 alfalfa bales sold $20 a bale higher (USDA AMS Colorado Direct Hay Report, Oct. 22). Premium alfalfa small squares traded at $14.75 a bale, and fair haygrazer and millet in large squares at $200 a ton. Colorado reports many sales by the bale, so check bale weight before comparing with per-ton prices. It is also the one corner of the High Plains where the Oct. 20 Drought Monitor showed conditions getting worse, and 18.36% of the state sits in extreme or exceptional drought.
Why Prices Are Where They Are
Thin carryover. USDA counted 23.3 million tons of hay on farms on May 1, down 3.3% from a year earlier, so there was less old hay to lean on (USDA NASS via HayWire).
A short grass crop. South Dakota’s report says grass hay supplies are limited because April and May were dry. In Wyoming, ranchers are reporting they are not getting enough water to put up their usual amount of hay (Cowboy State Daily).
Expensive hauling. Hay is bulky and costly to move for what it is worth, so it trades locally. U.S. diesel averaged $6.28 a gallon on Oct. 19 (EIA via HayWire), and Colorado’s average was $6.56, up $3.10 from a year ago.
Fewer cows, but slowly. Torrington Livestock in Wyoming was running nearly nine times its normal seasonal sale volume in June as ranchers sold cattle (Drovers). Fewer cows will eventually mean less hay demand, but that plays out over years, not this winter.
What It Means This Winter
The Oct. 20 Drought Monitor showed one-category improvement across parts of eastern Wyoming, eastern Colorado, and central, south-central and northeastern Nebraska. That helps next year’s pastures. It does not add a bale to this winter’s supply.
NOAA’s 2026-27 winter outlook, released Oct. 16, is built around a very strong El Niño. It favors warmer-than-average temperatures across much of the northern U.S. and wetter-than-average conditions across the South, Southwest and East Coast. The northern Plains and Intermountain West get equal chances of a wet, dry or normal winter, and parts of the northern Rockies lean drier. The coverage we reviewed does not break out Nebraska, Colorado or Wyoming individually, so check NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center map for your county.
Our read: the hay is already made, demand is good and freight is high, and nothing in the outlook points to a sudden break in supply or prices. In the drought pockets, especially for grass hay in western South Dakota, Wyoming and the Nebraska Panhandle, expect prices to stay firm through winter and into spring. A mild winter would help by shortening the feeding season. The real relief is a wet spring, and nobody can forecast that yet. A few ways to protect your feed bill:
● Compare per ton, not per bale. Ask for the bale weight so you can convert.
● Know whether the price is FOB or delivered. In Nebraska this week, fair brome grass was $150 a ton at the stack and $185 delivered.
● Test what you buy. USDA’s grass hay guidelines call 13% crude protein and up premium, 9 to 13% good, 5 to 9% fair and under 5% low. Our winter feeding guide covers when to supplement: Winter Cattle Nutrition and Feeding Requirements.
● Price the alternatives. Ground corn stalks were quoted at $120 a ton delivered to Nebraska feedlots, and haygrazer and millet were trading at $195 to $200 a ton in Nebraska and Colorado. Ask your nutritionist whether they pencil out for your cows.
If your region is short, the best hay will not sit around. Lock in supply early.
Hay Basics: Cuttings, Protein and Grades
First cutting. Late May to June. The most tonnage of the year, but stemmier and often carrying more weeds.
Second cutting. Grows fastest in summer heat and tends to be the lowest in protein, around 16% on average.
Third cutting. Grows slowly in cooler weather, so it is leafier and softer, and usually the highest in protein and most palatable of the year.
Alfalfa grades. Supreme is 22% crude protein or more and goes mainly to dairies. Premium is 20 to 22%, good is 18 to 20%, and fair or utility is under 18%, which suits beef cows on maintenance rations.
Meadow and native grass hay. Typically 8 to 9% crude protein. That is enough for a dry, mature cow in maintenance mode, but not for a lactating cow or growing calf without supplement.
Organic hay. It must come off certified organic ground, sells at a premium, and moves mostly through direct sales to organic dairies and specialty buyers. In January, Northeast organic dairy producers reported that some were going as far as Colorado to find organic hay for lactating cows (NODPA).
What Hay Means for Ranch Land
A year like this separates ranches that can make their own feed from ranches that have to buy it. When you look at a property in Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming or northeast Colorado, ask for the hay story along with the acreage. How many tons per acre did the hay ground produce, including in the dry years? Is it irrigated or sub-irrigated, and what water rights, ditch shares or wells come with it? How much winter feed can the place put up and store without buying? At #1 Properties Ranch & Recreation, we look at forage, water and feeding infrastructure as part of every ranch evaluation, because in a short-hay year those are the details that protect your bottom line.
If you are buying or selling ranch, farm or recreational land in Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming or Colorado, or you want to talk through what this hay market means for a property, give me a call.
Tommy Wiles, Real Estate Agent, #1 Properties Ranch & Recreation, 308.360.2030
Prices and conditions come from public USDA reports, market summaries and news coverage as of October 26, 2026, and change weekly. This post is general information, not feeding, financial or legal advice.
Sources
Consulted October 26, 2026
● USDA AMS Nebraska Direct Hay Report, Oct. 22, 2026: https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/ams_2935.pdf
● USDA AMS South Dakota Direct Hay Report, Oct. 16, 2026: https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/ams_3183.pdf
● USDA AMS Colorado Direct Hay Report, Oct. 22, 2026: https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/ams_2905.pdf ● HayWire, Wyoming hay prices (USDA auction data to Oct. 12): https://haywireag.com/hay-prices/wyoming.html ● HayWire, national and state hay prices, week of Oct. 19: https://haywireag.com/prices.html
● Progressive Forage, Forage Market Insights (June 2026 prices): https://www.agproud.com/articles/63937-forage-market-insights-lateseason-moisture-steadies-markets
● USDA NASS via UNL CropWatch, Nebraska crop values: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/news/nebraska-2024-crop-values-down ● NOAA 2026-27 Winter Outlook coverage, Oct. 16: https://www.ktvu.com/news/noaa-official-us-winter-outlook ● Drovers, Torrington Livestock sale volume: https://www.drovers.com/news/drought-forces-ranchers-tough-decisions-cattle-sales-skyrocket
● Cowboy State Daily, Wyoming hay shortage (July 2026): https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/07/22/its-brutal-wyoming-cant-grow-hay-so-ranchers-pay-big-bucks-or-sell-livestock/ ● WyoFile, Wyoming ranchers’ difficult choices: https://wyofile.com/ranchers-face-difficult-choices-after-brutally-hot-dry-summer/
● Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, Pay and Feed Prices, Jan. 2026: https://nodpa.com/n/9233/Pay-and-Feed-Prices-January-2026